-- So now L.A. really is an NFL city again, with the official return of the Great Rams Quarterback Controversy. Isn’t it fun? …

-- For those who have forgotten, or who have come of age only in the last two decades, there is a rich heritage of quarterback duels in Los Angeles pro football history, going all the way back to the competition between Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin from 1949 through ‘52.

Mentioning Case Keenum and Jared Goff even one paragraph removed from those Hall of Famers can only be considered a massive stretch. …

-- And just to jog your memories — or send you to Google — how about these quarterback duels? Billy Wade vs. Frank Ryan (1958-60), both of whom subsequently won NFL titles with other teams. Roman Gabriel vs. Bill Munson, which was a duel only in 1964 and '65 until George Allen arrived in ’66 and decided, quite sensibly, that Gabriel was The Man.

There were these duels in the ‘70s: James Harris vs. Ron Jaworski, Harris vs. Jaworski vs. Pat Haden, and then Haden vs. Vince Ferragamo. (Plus Haden, Ferragamo and the aging Joe Namath in 1977, at least for the four games Namath lasted.)

There was, as well, the competition between Jim Everett and T.J. Rubley in 1993, SoCal’s last Great Rams Quarterback Controversy until now. That situation, with rookie Rubley actually starting seven games, only verified that whoever is No. 2 on the depth chart is usually No. 1 in the hearts of the populace, especially when the team is losing. …

-- Which pretty well explains Goff’s current popularity without ever having played an NFL regular season snap. …

-- Of course, there is a way for greater L.A. to benefit from superior quarterback play, but does anyone up there really want Philip Rivers and the Chargers to become the Coliseum’s third tenant next season? …

-- That brings us to Measure C on Tuesday’s ballot in San Diego.

It’s been pretty well established that the Chargers’ stadium initiative won’t get the two-thirds vote necessary to pass, and probably won’t even reach 50 percent if current polling is anywhere near accurate. The most recent poll has it trailing 55-45. …

Consider, too, that the Chargers, who have totally self-funded their campaign, have raised more than $7.6 million, according to the inewsource.org database, while the “No on Downtown Stadium” side has raised $134,622.

The message? No amount of money, and no amount of advertising or door-to-door campaigning, can wipe away the lingering anger toward Dean Spanos in San Diego.

Maybe they should have put that money toward better players and coaches, instead.…

-- Assuming those results hold up Tuesday, the next two months will be tremendously interesting.

Do the Chargers exercise their L.A. option by the Jan. 15 deadline? Would a 45 percent share at the polls Tuesday be enough of a vote of confidence to convince Spanos to try again in San Diego? Or will the final home game of this season resemble a wake, as the final home game of last season did? ;…

-- Measure C opponent Tony Manolatos suggested to the San Diego Union-Tribune last week that the team’s advertising focus was misguided, saying: “Where is the ad with Philip Rivers tossing a football to a little Latino boy and saying how hard it is to picture life without the team?”

Let’s face it: Rivers, whose dependability is matched only by the joy and passion with which he approaches the game, is the Chargers organization’s best and most eloquent spokesman, period. It may not have changed the outcome, but it would have been interesting to see the effect if the city’s quarterback could have played more of a role in the campaign, even given the demands of his day job.

Maybe that’s a benefit of not having a quarterback controversy. …

-- Austin Barnes’ future may be about to get a little brighter. The Dodgers’ trade of Carlos Ruiz to Seattle means that Barnes, Riverside Poly’s own, is the backup to Yasmani Grandal pending future moves.

Now Barnes has to prove he can hit in the majors, which would make his versatility even more of an asset. He’s proven he can hit AAA pitching: a combined .304 batting average and .845 OPS, with 81 RBI and 39 doubles, over the last two seasons. With the Dodgers? A .180 batting average and .545 OPS in 74 plate appearances in 2015-16. …

-- Meanwhile, Redlands High alum Jacob Nottingham had an RBI double in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars game last Saturday. Nottingham, a Milwaukee Brewers farmhand, is hitting .235 with a .598 OPS in 13 AFL games with the Salt River Rafters, after hitting .234 with a .641 OPS at Biloxi in his first AA season in 2016.

Former UC Riverside reliever Trevor Frank, now in the Cleveland organization, has pitched in six games in relief for the Mesa Solar Sox. His first one was bad, with three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, but since then he has a 2.45 ERA, a win and a hold.

-- Frank is playing for Ryan Christenson, formerly of Riverside Arlington, who was Texas League Manager of the Year in 2016 at Midland, the A’s Double-A team and had the Solar Sox tied for first place in their AFL division entering Monday’s play.

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